Review: Olympus LS-10

Pocket recorder for those needing high-quality sound capture on the move

The pocket-sized LS-10 provides an affordable (if not cheap) way to make professional-quality recordings on the move.

Noise-reduction technology and zoom-mic settings enable good sound capture in a variety of conditions. For outdoor use, the LS-10 even comes with a couple of wind mufflers that fit on its twin mics, which peep from the top of the device like a couple of ears. The LS-10 is the size of a largish mobile phone.

On the front, below its 3x3.5cm display, are a navigation pad and buttons for stop, record, erase, file listing, and menu access. There is also a configurable quick-access button, and one for marking a passage for repeated playback. On the back is a socket that fits any standard camera stand ­ a useful touch.

Arrayed around the edges are line-in, mic, earphone, and DC power sockets, a mini-USB port, volume and recording-level controls, sensitivity and low-cut-filter toggles, and a hold switch that doubles as an on-off.

There is also a high-capacity SD slot taking cards of up to 32GB capacity ­ enough for hours of recording, even days in a compressed format. There is also 2GB of internal memory.

The twin AA batteries last between 10 and 12 hours. You can set recording levels manually, or let the LS-10 do it automatically. Noise-reduction technology and a choice of mic settings enable good recording in a variety of conditions. Formats supported include MP3, WMA, and (for best quality) uncompressed linear PCM. A built-in speaker is loud enough only to identify tracks.

Olympus aptly describes the LS-10 as a pocket studio. Musicians will love it for making quick recordings and getting ideas down ­ it comes with the Lite version of Cubase production software. The downside, from Olympus’ point of view, is that it is also good for making bootleg recordings.